• Super-absorbent ideal for farming • Excellent diversification opportunity • Good returns if willing to sell direct A new opportunity has opened for farmers to supply miscanthus as a sought-after animal bedding – particularly for the equine market. Expansion is driven by the growing demand from Biosorb, a family-run... Read more

A new broad-spectrum fungicide will be available to growers for use across a range of winter and spring sown cereals this season. It follows regulatory approval for Plaxium – the first first three-way formulation fungicide from Bayer containing Iblon (isoflucypram). Mixed with fluopyram and prothioconazole, Plaxium offers broad-spectrum activity... Read more

Laureate still popular with growers Farmers looking to grow spring malting barley successfully in 2025 should manage risk by considering varieties that have performed consistently over multiple years. This should include difficult growing seasons – such as 2024, says Syngenta seeds technical expert Robert Jackson. Growers should also be... Read more

A wet autumn meant spring barley was a get-out-of-jail card for some growers last season. But many crops still delivered above average yields. Their performance owes much to the age-old issue of tiller retention, says Limagrain arable technical manager Ron Granger. Pictured below, Mr Granger outlines six ways to... Read more

• Impressive yield ‘twice national average’ • Resilience to variable weather patterns • More oats to be grown during 2025 A Lincolnshire farm saw Merlin spring oats yield an incredible 11t/ha last summer – over twice the national average. The unprecedented achievement was achieved by the Happy Days Farming... Read more

• Good yield and disease resistance • Consistent both in trials and on farm • Performs well over different regions A recommended list yield of 107% of controls underlines a highly successful year for winter wheat DSV Champion, says the plant breeder. Despite 2024’s challenging conditions, DSV Champion performed... Read more

Two Syngenta malting barley varieties have been fully approved by the Malting Barley Committee for harvest 2025. Spring barley variety SY Tennyson has secured full approval for brewing, having previously been provisionally approved. It was already fully approved for distilling – underlining its potential as a dual-purpose variety. Described... Read more

• Full malting status for winter barley • Strong yields and disease resistance • ‘Serious interest’ for barley growers High-yielding winter barley Buccaneer has achieved full malting status for brewing. The two-row variety from Elsoms Seeds was approved at the Malting Barley Committee’s autumn meeting on 4 November.  With... Read more

Valuable traits benefit growers Two new Limagrain pulses added to the 2024/25 PGRO Descriptive List demonstrate a continuing commitment to the UK sector, says the breeder. Yielding 110% of control, LG Eagle is the joint highest performing spring bean variety on the list. It is joined by early maturing... Read more

Two wheats from breeder RAGT make the 2025/26 Recommended List after strong performances on farms and in trials. Breadmaking wheat RGT Goldfinch is the first Group 2 breadmaking wheat resistant to barley yellow dwarf virus and orange wheat blossom midge. It is joined by RGT Hexton – a barn-filling... Read more